President Donald Trump has declared that the White House news conferences were 'not worth the time and effort' because the 'La...
President Donald Trump has declared that the White House news conferences were 'not worth the time and effort' because the 'Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions.'
An embattled Trump took to his favorite social media platform on Saturday to slam 'fake news' and to cancel the White House press briefings.
'What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,' he asked in the Saturday tweet. 'They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!'
An embattled Trump, who just a day earlier unfollowed Pier's Morgan after the presenter's Mail column called him 'batsh*t crazy', took to his favorite social media platform to slam 'fake news' and to cancel the White House press briefings
'What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,' he said in the Saturday tweet. 'They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!'
Prior to the tweet, the White House called the press pool and announced that the press briefing was cancelled
Trump followed up with a declaration that he never called the pandemic a 'hoax' during a rally in South Carolina.
'I never said the pandemic was a Hoax! Who would say such a thing? I said that the Do Nothing Democrats, together with their Mainstream Media partners, are the Hoax,' he said. 'They have been called out & embarrassed on this, even admitting they were wrong, but continue to spread the lie!'
Prior to the tweets, the White House called the press pool and announced that the press briefing was cancelled.
In the absence of his campaign rallies, the president has relished the opportunity to take the lead during the televised afternoon updates, which have stretched for as long as two hours as Trump boasts achievements against the outbreaks and applauds the high television rating the briefings receive.
The White House briefing room is dark and empty after the coronavirus task force did not hold a briefing on Saturday
Trump followed up with a declaration that he never called the pandemic a 'hoax' during a rally in South Carolina
The White House has expressed concern, however, that Trump's presence may be causing more harm than good as his approval ratings slide back down into the 40s and recent polls show him to have fallen behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in key states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Concerns grew after the president's now infamous claims that injecting disinfectant could cure coronavirus.
Trump made the off-the-cuff remark during a Thursday press conference where he appeared to suggest that Covid 19 could be cured by using UV light inside the body - and by injecting disinfectants.
Even close aides were said to be shocked by the 'off-the-cuff' disinfectant remarks while Dr Deborah Birx, on Trump's Coronavirus Task Force, looked horrified. His aides blamed his remarks on an eagerness from the president to present positive news, according to NBC.
The comments were quickly met with worldwide mockery and derision - and was universally rejected by health experts who were quick to point out the dangers of injecting or ingesting bleach or other disinfectants. Even disinfectant manufacturers such as Lysol were forced to issue a statement warning their customers not to try and use their products as a 'cure'.
Yesterday, the president even unfollowed Pier's Morgan after he called him 'batsh*t crazy' in his DailyMail.com column.
The backash led to a PR nightmare for the White House and a furious Trump ended up walking out of a press conference on Friday - which allowed no questions.
Trump's claims his comments were intended as 'sarcasm' have been met with suspicion.
Officials believe he may have misinterpreted scientific information discussed with him before Thursday's briefing about the use of disinfectant on surfaces.
The plan was to stress the findings of the report but 'the president took it a couple steps further', one official told NBC, by suggesting it as a potential cure.
The blunder has now led to discussions underway within the White House looking to curtail the president's involvement to prevent further damage, according to four White House officials and Republicans close to the White House who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Trump earlier tweeted that the media had 'incorrectly reported that he had been asking Dr Deborah Birx questions during Thursday's press conference - but footage proved that he did actually inquire about unorthodox coronavirus treatment.
Trump earlier tweeted that 'Lamestream Media' incorrectly reported that he had been asking Dr Deborah Birx questions during Thursday's press conference - but footage proved that he did actually inquire about unorthodox coronavirus treatment
'Was just informed that the Fake News from the Thursday White House Press Conference had me speaking & asking questions of Dr. Deborah Birx,' he said in the Saturday tweet. 'Wrong, I was speaking to our Laboratory expert, not Deborah, about sunlight etc. & the CoronaVirus. The Lamestream Media is corrupt & sick!'
'Was just informed that the Fake News from the Thursday White House Press Conference had me speaking & asking questions of Dr. Deborah Birx,' he said in the Saturday tweet.
'Wrong, I was speaking to our Laboratory expert, not Deborah, about sunlight etc. & the CoronaVirus. The Lamestream Media is corrupt & sick!'
Multiple outlets shared video of the exchange between President Trump and Dr. Birx, including C-SPAN and AP.
'Not only were you speaking to her, she responded to you,' Cohen There's literally video footage. Brian Tyler Cohen shared the C-SPAN clip of the back-and-forth in the comments of Trump's tweet.
Prior to his exchange with Dr Birx on Thursday, Trump asked William Bryan - senior Homeland Security science and technology advisor - a series of questions regarding a report claiming that ultraviolet rays and heat have a potent impact on the pathogen.
The 'study' - which was not peer-reviewed and therefore is not a fully-fledged piece of research - also uncovered that bleach can destroy the virus when isolated from saliva within five minutes, while isopropyl alcohol took just a minute to kill it.
Multiple outlets shared video of the exchange between President Trump and Dr. Birx, including C-SPAN and AP
'I would then like you to speak to the medical doctors to see if there is any way you can apply light and heat to cure, if you could. And maybe you can and maybe you can't,' he said, directing his attention to Birx. 'I'm not a doctor but I am a person who has a good you know what. Deborah have you ever heard of the heat and the light relative to certain viruses yes but relative to this virus?'
Both of those were when the virus was outside the body.
It was then that Trump turned his attention to Dr Birx, as the footage shows.
'I would then like you to speak to the medical doctors to see if there is any way you can apply light and heat to cure, if you could. And maybe you can and maybe you can't,' he said, directing his attention to Birx.
'I'm not a doctor but I am a person who has a good you know what. Deborah have you ever heard of the heat and the light relative to certain viruses yes but relative to this virus?'
The doctor responded: 'Not as a treatment. I mean certainly fever. It is a good thing when you have a fever, it helps your body respond. But I've not seen...'
But Trump still wanted to inquire more about the unorthodox method, retorting: 'I think it is a great thing to look at.'
Bryan is not a scientist, and has worked at the Energy Department and the Pentagon. He holds a Master of Science in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor of Science in logistics systems management from Colorado Technical University in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The doctor responded: 'Not as a treatment. I mean certainly fever. It is a good thing when you have a fever, it helps your body respond. But I've not seen...'
No comments